How to prepare your Palm Trees for the cold.
Palm species vary greatly in their tolerance to cold. Some species tolerate temperatures in the high teens and twenties for short periods, while others are damaged when temperatures drop below 40°F. The type of palm tree you have is key to the cold tolerance it can handle with out damage. Every palm has a border line where it can grow, so there are many circumstances to consider. Building a cold frame for young palms in border line areas is a good idea, but remember it needs light!
If your planting in a border line area, you should plant in the spring after the cold weather has passed, this allows your palm to establish a new and deeper root system before the next winter arrives.
Caring for the Bud
The bud is where the new fronds (Spear leaf) emerge. It is the most vulnerable part of the palm during cold periods and freezing temperatures. Cover the palm with a cold weather tree blanket prior to frost and freezes. Tree blankets should only be used continuously for up to 3 days at a time. If they are used for an extended period of time, they should be removed during the day to provide the tree with warming sunlight. Never use plastic covers on a tree to provide cold protection; always use a breathable fabric specially made for tree protection.
Caring for Trunk
The trunk can also be wrapped to help the palm retain heat. This step has proven to be very successful in borderline areas where palms are capable of growing.
Fertilizing:
This is a step that needs to be done during the spring, summer and fall, as the palm needs time to absorb these nutrients. It is best to use a palm fertilizer containing additional magnesium and a complete micronutrient amendment to improve the overall health of your palm and ensure it has the nutrients to make a recovery from winter.
Water the soil around your palms days before an expected freeze. A well watered soil will absorb more solar radiation than dry soil and will reradiate heat during the night. Do not water the bud area of the tree!
Fungicide Spray:
When a palm tree is under stress from frost or freeze damage it becomes more vulnerable to other fungal and bacterial infections. A preventative treatment of fungicidal copper spray can prevent from such infections. The bud area is the most susceptible to bacterial infections, and bud rot can occur killing the tree.
Treatment of cold-damaged palms
Since foliar necrosis is one of the first and most conspicuous symptoms associated with cold damage, palm owners are often anxious to trim off these necrotic or mostly necrotic leaves following a cold weather event. Avoid the temptation to remove these leaves until the danger of additional cold weather has passed. Even dead leaves provide some insulative value to the palm meristem.
If the cold weather was sufficient to kill the spear leaf base and the spear leaf can easily be pulled out, it may be helpful to remove the spear leaf to allow for air movement and drying of the tissue. Drenching the bud area with a copper fungicide (not a copper nutrient spray or drench) to reduce the chances of secondary microbes killing the meristem may also be helpful. Whether or not such practices actually improve palm survival has never been scientifically tested. If the spear leaf does not pull out easily, it is likely that the spear leaf base has survived, and since the meristem is much hardier than the spear leaf base, it, too, should be alive. Fungicide treatment of such palms is probably unnecessary.
If applying a copper fungicide, follow the label. The label is the law. Avoid the use of water-soluble compounds such as copper sulfate unless they have been neutralized according to the label. Water-soluble copper compounds are phytotoxic when applied to palm foliage. Copper fungicides are recommended over other fungicides because they are active against both bacteria and fungi. The purpose of using these fungicides on cold-damaged palms is not to control a specific disease, but to inhibit fungal and bacterial degradation of damaged plant tissue.
|
|
